ADDITIVE UP TO 3 TONS

GTarc 60-5 will celebrate its world premiere at formnext 2017. With its additive wire smelting machine, German manufacturer Gefertec wants to make Additive Manufacturing attractive for large components and volumes.

The »3D Metal Print« technology (3DMP) used by Gefertec is based on inert-gas welding and uses wire as the base material. This allows a workpiece to be »printed« weld bead for weld bead. The structure of »GTarc 60-5« is reminiscent of a classic machining center and uses a CNC controller. »We‘ve had a good response from the industry because the technology has been known for years,« says Marcus Ortloff, sales engineer at Gefertec.

With »GTarc 60-5« and its older brother, »GTarc 3000-3«, Gefertec can use the 3-axis model to manufacture components weighing up to 3 tons and with a volume of up to 3 m³. In contrast, component volumes and weight are much lower with the 5-axis variant, but supporting structures are not required here in the manufacturing process, according to Gefertec.

Even in terms of buildup rates, Gefertec promises significant advances: up to 600 cm³/h with aluminum and up to 450 cm³/h with titanium. Large components in the heavy industry, such as screw propellers, are among the potential fields of application, believes Ortloff. »We‘re starting at the point where you stop with powder.«